I'm not a commercial balloon pilot, BTW.
Was that the Northampton Festival you were talking about? The main problem with ballooning vs Air Law is that in many areas the Law is not appropriate for the sport and a few exemptions need to be formulated, not that that is likely to happen any time soon.
Where the 1500' Rule would appear to be being broken, we did have CAA exemption for takeoff from a congested area and the entry selection procedure would have ensured that we all had the necessary May 21st 2002 Display Authorisation. We are supposed to climb as quickly as possible to clear the area, but with 70 other balloons there is a limit to the vertical speed that is safe.
Balloons can be safely flown in approriate conditions in situations that would clearly be lethal for fixed-wing operations and it is *my* view that Rule 5 needs modifying to reflect this. Note that this is NOT advocating the Yahoo Tendancy that some pilots are undoubtable prone to (I seem to recall that f/w pilots are not altogether immune from the disease), just considering what is safe for both us and the public.
As to the example quoted, do you really mean flight at 24:00? Legally you would need a night rating (they do exist) but in practical terms you wouldn't fly passengers in the dark until dawn!
I personally wouldn't fly without gloves, but unless you're changing tanks some might argue that they're optional. It might be unwise, but not illegal.
Well, you did ask if there were any ballooning types around!
